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Gnr. Ernest Sidney Emptage
British Army 145th Siege Battery Royal Garrison Artillery
from:107 Ladysmith Road, Grimsby
Ernest Emptage signed up in 1914 for the Royal Garrison Artillery along with his two brothers. All 3 returned, the brothers unscathed but my Grandad had to have his left lower arm amputated.
My father said that he only ever told him one detail about how he got his injury. He had told him that his gun crew had received a direct hit, and that every other member of the crew had been killed bar him. This story was always the one we regailed when people asked.. until I found his war records. Yes, it states he had his left lower arm amputated, but there in black and white it clearly says GSW... Gun Shot Wound! Certainly doesn't ring true of the often quoted story. How could he get a gun shot wound miles behind the lines, unless it was an accident? Friendly fire? Delving deeper into his records, I noticed that he was transfered to a couple of Trench Mortar Batteries also. These were very much closer, if not on the front line. This could have been when he received his injury.
Editors Note: GSW is used to denote penetrating injuries caused by shell fragments as well as bullets, so if his gun was hit by an enemy shell and he was wounded then his medical notes would record this as GSW.
